


Day 13

by MyShipLife



Series: Christmas Countdown [13]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28055352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyShipLife/pseuds/MyShipLife
Summary: Alec's son wants to meet their favorite writer for Christmas. Magnus is said “Christmas present”.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Christmas Countdown [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036347
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	Day 13

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, 
> 
> Once again, this isn't proof-read but it's already super late here and I need to turn off my screen until tomorrow ;)
> 
> I changed the prompt a bit, it still fits but it's a bit different.
> 
> As usual, come talk to me on here or twitter @caronahya
> 
> Enjoy!

Alec heard his phone vibrate and saw his sister’s number appear on the screen. He pushed his computer out of the way and answered.

“Hey Iz.”  
“Hi Alec. Listen, Simon just told me that Brooks would be doing autograph sessions of his books the week after Christmas.”  
“Really? Is he doing any nearby?”  
“You bet. That’s why I’m calling. There’s one in the bookstore around your corner the weekend after Christmas.”  
“I’ll probably try to look into that. Sam would be so happy.”  
“I’m going with Simon, because of course he wants to meet him too. But I thought you’d like to be there to witness the first time your son gets to meet one of his idols.”  
“It’s a good thing it’s a weekend though, because I would probably have sent you with Sam otherwise.”  
“Do you want us to go together? Or do you prefer going on your own?”  
“I’m fine with both, but it would be fun to go together, the boys could talk then.”  
“Stop putting your child and my husband in the same category.”  
“Not my fault they share the same interests.”  
“Be glad they do. You wouldn’t even know about the signing if it weren’t for Simon.”  
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Do you think you guys could keep it a secret? I like the idea of surprising Sam with it.”  
“Of course. That’s a great idea!”

After their phone call, Alec went and checked the details for the signing. It happened on December 26th and the bookstore was literally two blocks down. They could easily go by foot and enjoy the walk as well.

On Christmas Day, Alec and Sam went to celebrate with Alec’s family. When they arrived, only his parents were there.

“Grandpa, Grandma!”  
“Sam, so nice to see you. You’ve grown since last month, how is that possible? Do you eat all your vegetables?”  
“I do grandma, but I know that’s not why I’m growing…”  
“And you’re getting even more intelligent.”

Alec loved the relationship between his parents and his son. It hadn’t been easy at first, when he had announced that he wanted to be a single dad. Alec had always wanted children, ever since he was a child himself. He loved to take care of his siblings and he had always said he’d have children young. When he acknowledged being gay at 14, he soon realized his wish for children would be harder. Not impossible, just harder. So when he reached 27, he decided it was time for him to try and adopt a child. The process hadn’t taken that long, a young woman had picked his file and stuck with him till the end. She had liked his motivation letter and his reasons to becoming a dad.   
That’s how Samuel Lightwood had joined the family. His parents, despite their original wariness, had welcomed Sam with open arms. And Alec never regretted once his choice. Sure, it had prevented him from getting into relationships several times, but in the end, it was for the greater good, because those wouldn’t have lasted anyway, if children were such a turndown for them.

When the whole family had arrived, they went to the Christmas tree and started opening the presents. Since Samuel was the only child, for now, he was the first to open his gifts. He got really excited over the toys his grandparents had bought him and even more so when he opened his aunts and uncles’ encyclopedia on the book series he was currently reading, written by Brooks.

“Thank you so much! Uncle Si, have you read those?”  
“I have buddy, they’re really interesting. Especially if you want to know more about where the story takes places and everything.”  
“I can’t wait to read those. Thank you so much.”  
“Buddy, you still haven’t opened my gift.”

Alec handed his son the last gift, which wasn’t on the pile he had been given. It was an envelope. Sam opened it carefully and got the paper out. His eyes widen comically when he read it.

“Dad? Is it true?”  
“It is Buddy.”  
“I’m gonna meet brooks?”  
“And we’re taking Uncle Si with us. Well Isabelle is taking him but we’re going together.”  
“Thank you Dad, it’s the best gift ever.”

Sam just threw his arms around his dad’s beck and held him close. Alec felt extremely grateful towards his sister and her husband for letting him in on the event, which he would have missed on his own.

The following day, Alec and Sam were in front of the library at 4pm, just when the signing was about to begin. The line was already a bit long, and when Isabelle and Simon joined them, they realized that it had grown considerably.

They chatted while waiting and Alec saw his son getting more and more nervous. When there were just a few people before them, Alec moved closer to his son and crouched next to him.

“Hey Buddy, do you want Simon to go first? He can chat a little with Brooks and then you can join him?”  
“Maybe, I don’t really know Dad.”  
“You’ve got nothing to worry about Sam. I’m sure Brooks is a nice person and that you’ll get along just fine.”  
“There aren’t a lot of children in here.”  
“So? It’s even better, I’m sure he’ll be super happy to meet a reader so young.”

Soon, it was Simon’s turn and he chatted for a while with Brooks while Sam stayed close to Alec. Alec, on his side, was mesmerized by Brooks. The man was gorgeous. Aside from his clothing which looked so good on him, his hair was styled perfectly and his make-up matched both his clothing and hair. The ideas that came to mind were definitely not suitable for a book signing. He heard Simon mention Sam’s name and knew it was his way of making Sam feel more comfortable. Alec saw Brooks lean to the side and smile warmly at Sam, wave at him and focus back on Simon.  
After signing his book, he motioned for Sam to come closer.  
“Hi Sam, I’m Brooks. How are you?”  
“Hi. I’m good thanks.”  
“So, your uncle tells me you’ve been reading my books?”  
“Yes, I have.”  
“Which one is your favorite?”  
“The third.”  
“Really? Why?”  
“Because that’s when we discover the reason for Lena’s power and when she learns about her family. It’s so important.”  
“I agree with you on that. I’m very happy to meet such a young fan. It’s not often that I meet children your age reading my books. Have you read them all?”  
“Yes. I got the encyclopedia for Christmas too, I can’t wait to start reading it.”  
“It’s a nice gift.”  
“Uncle Si got it for me.”

Alec watched his son interact with his idol and he could feel the joy radiating from Sam. He was so focused on his son that he wasn’t listening to Brooks anymore, until he heard a throat being cleared and felt Sam tugging on his hand.

“Dad? Brooks asked if we could stay for the reading?”  
“I’m sorry, I got lost in my mind for a minute. When is the reading?”  
“It’s in an hour.”  
“Buddy, it’s going to be super late.”  
“But Dad, it’s Christmas Break.”  
“Well Dad, it seems your boy has a point there. Is your wife going to be mad if you keep him out past his usual bedtime?”

Before Alec could answer, he heard Sam pipe up.

“My dad isn’t married. It’s just the two of us. So he can’t be mad at himself for letting me do things.”  
“That’s some good reasoning. You’ve got a really clever boy here Sir.”  
“Thanks, sometimes I wish he was less sneaky.”  
“Maybe you could make an exception to his bedtime and stay, I’d make sure you get front row seats. I could even get you 4 tickets to make sure your family stays along? It’s not every day I get to meet a kid so excited about my book.”  
“Fine. Thank you, it’s very kind of you.”  
“You’re welcome. Just give me a second and I’ll write a note for my assistant for when you arrive.”  
“Thanks again.”

They left the line, Sam beaming. When they met up with Isabelle and Simon, his brother-in-law just stared happily at his nephew.

“You got us tickets for the reading? Those have been sold out for weeks. How did you do that?”  
“Brooks was excited to have a kid so interested in his books.”

Alec heard his sister snicker when he was done talking.

“What does that mean Iz?”  
“He was excited alright. Though my money is more on the dad than the kid...”  
“I haven’t talked about his books with him.”  
“Alec, sometimes your obliviousness astounds me. I’m not saying Brooks wasn’t genuinely happy to meet Sam, and have a kid enjoy his books. I just mean that the way he looked at you didn’t leave much to imagination.”  
“Yeah right. Like a guy his league would be interested in someone like me.”  
“You tell your kid all the time not to compare himself to others because he’s his own person, and yet you can’t seem to apply that rule to yourself. Let me tell you something big brother, he’d be lucky to have you.”

The whole family arrived at the reading and true to his word, Brooks had reserved seats for them in the front row. When they were ushered to their seats, Brooks’ assistant told Alec privately.

“Brooks would be delighted if you could stay after the reading, he’d love to talk some more with you.”  
“Oh, sure. We’ll see if Sam isn’t too tired.”

From the corner of his eye, Alec saw Isabelle shake her head and gears started running in his head. Then, the reading began, and Alec paid more attention to Brooks. He was looking intensely at him. More than other people. And he would often smile at him during his reading, something he didn’t seem to be doing with others. He also paid a lot of attention to Sam, winking at the boy when he reached a part they had talked about together earlier. 

When the reading was done, they remained in the room until Brooks came to chat with the guests. He made rounds and Alec saw him come closer to them.

“Sam, what did you think?”  
“I love this part, it was nice to hear you read it.”  
“I’m glad you liked it. What about you all?”

Simon answered and Alec saw Isabelle elbow him. He frowned at his sister who just laughed. She turned towards Sam and asked him if he wanted to drink something and they went together to grab some drinks. When they were gone, Brooks turned towards Alec.

“What about you… I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”  
“Alec.”  
“What about you Alec? Did you have a favorite part?”  
“I’m sorry, not really. Fantasy isn’t my go-to genre.”  
“That’s fine. To each their own.”

Alec saw Simon grab his phone and his eyebrows went to his hairline. He looked at Alec, like a deer caught in the headlights, mumbled a quick goodbye to Brooks and left.

“He’s a strange fellow, isn’t he?”  
“Simon? You get used to him. He’s been married to my sister for the last three years. It took me a while but he grows on you I guess.”  
“You seem to be really close with your family.”  
“Being a single dad hasn’t always been easy. I’m super grateful for them. They helped me more than I can count.”  
“I can’t imagine.”  
“Do you have children?”  
“I don’t. I’ve always wanted some but never found the right person to have them with I guess.”  
“I know the problem. That’s why I had Samuel on my own.”   
“I admire your courage Alec.”  
“When I think back about it now, I’m glad I took the leap but I had no idea how hard it would be. So yeah, if at some point you decide you want to take the leap, you need to know that it won’t be flowers and rainbow all the time.”  
“I’m sure. I’m sorry I have to cut this short, I need to go around the room. It was a real pleasure meeting you Alec.”  
“You too Brooks.”  
“Magnus.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“My name. It’s Magnus.”  
“It was nice to meet you Magnus.”

Alec smiled at Magnus and hesitated for a few moments before deciding against it. He couldn’t ask a guy out in the middle of a reading. He went back to his son and his siblings.

“So big brother, did you have a nice chat?”  
“We did Iz, thanks.”  
“I’m sorry Alec, I didn’t know. Iz sent me a message and I left asap, you should have told me you wanted to…”  
“Simon no, it’s fine. I didn’t want to anything.”  
“So you didn’t?”  
“Didn’t what Iz? I’m no wizard, I can’t read your mind.”  
“Being a wizard wouldn’t necessarily help Dad. You’d need to be a telepath.”  
“Thanks Sam. Iz, maybe we could continue this chat later?”  
“Simon, maybe you could take Sam for a tour for a little while?”

Simon nodded and left with Sam, while Isabelle turned towards Alec.

“Listen Alec, I know you got what I meant. What are you afraid of? You don’t know the guy. If he says yes, you’ve got yourself a date. If he says no, you’ll probably never see him again. To me, it looks like a win-win”.  
“I don’t know Iz.”  
“I’m saying you should. Tell you what: Simon and I are taking Sam to get some sushi. We’ll meet at our place for dinner. That way you get a few more moments if you want to try. You can also decide not to do it and enjoy a few moments to yourself.”

Alec watched Isabelle leave and wondered if maybe she wasn’t right. He wouldn’t be taking that big of a risk. After a few more minutes, and when Magnus moved away from a couple of people, Alec looked his way and smiled, moving closer. He saw the moment Magnus realized he was going back to talk to him, as he started going his way too.

“Anything wrong Alec?”  
“Really not. Listen Magnus, I was wondering if maybe, you’d like to grab a drink with me sometimes? Or maybe have dinner?”  
“Are you asking me out on a date?”  
“I guess I am. I’d understand if you think this is too much, or even inappropriate. But I won’t lie, I’m attracted to you and you seem like someone I’d like to know better.”  
“Do you have a pen?”

Alec felt his pocket and got a pen out of it. He handed it to Magnus, who scribbled something on a piece of paper.

“I never do this. Never. If my agent sees this, he’s going to kill me. This is my phone number, call me when you can and we’ll try to make something work.”  
“Are you often in New York?”  
“My author’s name is Brooks.”  
“Like Brooklyn?”  
“Exactly like Brooklyn.”  
“Good to know. Thanks Magnus, I’ll send you a text when I get home. I’m on vacation next week, so I’ll be available whenever you are. I’m glad we came today.”  
“I’m glad you did too, and even more so that your son is a fan. I feel like I already passed an important test.”  
“You did. Goodnight Magnus.”  
“Goodnight Alec.”

Alec left, smiling at Magnus who just waved at him. It looked like his son’s Christmas present was a very good idea indeed.


End file.
